The invention relates to soft tissue anchors.
An increasing number of surgical techniques are now performed arthroscopically. One type of arthroscopic procedure reconstructs the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee. Several ACL reconstructive techniques are described in Rosenberg, U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,520, entitled "Method for ACL Reconstruction," which is incorporated herein by reference.
When the ACL has ruptured and is nonrepairable, it is usually replaced in the knee using a substitute graft harvested from the patient or from a donor. Alternatively, artificial grafts formed synthetically or with a combination of artificial and natural material are used. In general, the replacement graft is implanted by securing one end of the graft in a passage formed within the femur, and passing the other end of the graft through a tibial channel and securing it to the tibia adjacent the tibial channel. The graft must be rigidly fixed to the femur and tibia.
Each end of the replacement graft is attached to a fastener, e.g., a fixation screw or button, by suture or tape, as described in Ferragamo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,894, entitled "Graft Attachment Device and Method of Attachment," incorporated herein by reference. One fastener is secured to the tibia and the other fastener to the femur to secure the graft in place.